Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 348 posts · 128 votes
Here we are finally done with my first rehab. I started back around the middle of August and 3 months and one massive act of vandalism later we are at the finish line! Please feel free to ask questions and make comments about the pictures below. I really enjoy answering questions and helping out in any way I can. Enjoy!
Real Estate Investor · atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 456 posts · 237 votes
12y
Great job on the remodel Jacob - I wish I had caught this posting earlier. You do really nice work and obviously take a ton of pride in your renovations and the home you are presenting for sale. You need to point that out in your marketing efforts. I've flipped more houses than most over the years but what works for me might not work for you:
The agent who can help you find & negotiate the deal on a purchase isn't necessarily the best person for the job on the sale. Agents often think they are somehow entitled to the commission on the other end of the deal if they helped you buy it. Figure out in advance who the "hot" listing agent is in the market you are buying the next house in and interview them for the listing....even in advance. Chat with them about your plans and get some input as to what you should be doing to make it sell for max price. You don't have to listen to them but it's good to hear what they have to say in advance. I have some agents in east cobb who sell everything they touch at great prices...not always market max...they actually sold one recently before it even was listed. Find those kinds of agents and don't be afraid to split the deal
I wouldn't have lowered the price at all...at least not when you did. I would have cut my listing agents commission back some and ramped up the selling agent's commission to 5%. Agents are commission driven and the more you pay, the more attention you'll get...and they'll be lining up to see you next project.
Shoot a great marketing video of the property and get it online ASAP. I am involved in several companies and video marketing is key to what we do and our success. Check with the local colleges and see if they have a video/media program and see if they will work with you on internship or cheap basis...be they will. Youtube is great...but it has to be a good video. If you feel comfortable, get in front of the camera and explain the salient points of what you've done with the house. No one knows that house better than you and your contractor...I'm sure you are doing some of the work so advertise that. Once you have the video you can post the link EVERYWHERE....put a note in it that you buy houses. CL isn't the place to sell your house...though it might a great place to buy. Post it there but just accept the low baller tirekickers that come from it. With my renters, less than 5% come from CL...the rest are from other sources.
If you're going to keep doing this, get with a great local printer and have a nice postcard size marketing piece done...front & back. Set up the standard one side to be all about you, your philosophy and the "why should I buy from this guy?" Remember back when you bought your first home....the anxiety....the unknowns...speak to that...you have an honest face...use it in your marketing. Get known in your market as the "yes..you'll pay a little bit more but I'm worth it" investor. Also put a note on there somewhere that you BUY houses... I like making things do double duty so get the most out of your $$ and efforts.
Once you have the card set up - use it for each property. Take it door-to-door in a 1/4 mile radius around the property and try to meet some of the folks in your neighborhood. Don't knock on doors....and don't leave it in the mailbox as that's actually against the law....leave it in their front door. You'll have your neighbors marketing for you and you just never know...a visitor might see your card, catch the sexy shower and want to buy it. The card got the ball rolling...not your agent. There is always a hidden market for buyers...just like the one we try to find for sellers.
Raleigh is a big IT town with more men than women. Market the house as a 4bedroom from the get-go...if it has a window & a closet and meets basic space requirement...it's a bedroom. It's also the perfect man cave for someone with a family...it's also, more importantly....the perfect home office for someone who works from home. Marketing is all about finding your niche or creating it;
Lastly, if you are going to keep doing this....reach out to the HR departments of leading and mid-size firms in your area....same with recruiters. The larger firms will have contracts with real estate relocation firms...ask who you need to speak with and let them know about your house and future projects. I know quite a few HR people and recruiters and networking with them brings me business.
Congrats on the house.....hope some of this helps for the next one! happy Investing!
Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y
Congrats and looks great. I have questions!
What's the product on the floor in the dining/kitchen area? Hardwood or engineered flooring?
How did you deal the brick fireplace? Is that cement or stucco and mud over the bricks? Or did you box it in with drywall?
Who's idea was it to put the sexy-time double shower head fixtures in your run-of-the-mill basic brick ranch? I've never seen that in anything other than high end rehabs or resort settings. Ingenious. Great way to add perceived value.
The house is in northeast Raleigh right outside the I-440 beltline. Without itemizing every line item I'm about $117k-118k into the house right now. I'm listing at $164,900 so hopefully we can make a nice chunk of change.
@K. Marie Poe
The flooring throughout the whole main area of the house is a REAL hardwood. We stained it about halfway between walnut and ebony. I wanted dark hardwood but ebony was a little too dark. The fireplace was just painted with white high gloss trim paint. I'm extremely happy I did it because it looks out of this world! The shower was my idea surprisingly enough. We came up with the realization that since both of the bathrooms were rather small, especially the master (which used to be a jack-and-jill but I closed the other entrance off to make a master suite) that we could go a little bit more higher end because there wasn't much square footage. So we put dual shower heads and a really nice marble product on the walls.
The house is in northeast Raleigh right outside the I-440 beltline. Without itemizing every line item I'm about $117k-118k into the house right now. I'm listing at $164,900 so hopefully we can make a nice chunk of change.
@K. Marie Poe
The flooring throughout the whole main area of the house is a REAL hardwood. We stained it about halfway between walnut and ebony. I wanted dark hardwood but ebony was a little too dark. The fireplace was just painted with white high gloss trim paint. I'm extremely happy I did it because it looks out of this world! The shower was my idea surprisingly enough. We came up with the realization that since both of the bathrooms were rather small, especially the master (which used to be a jack-and-jill but I closed the other entrance off to make a master suite) that we could go a little bit more higher end because there wasn't much square footage. So we put dual shower heads and a really nice marble product on the walls.
I like brick fireplaces that are painted white, but I couldn't tell the brick texture was still there in the picture. High gloss? I never do that and it wouldn't even occur to me go higher gloss than semi on anything as large as that fireplace. Great job.
Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y
How big is that shower stall? 38-40" The dual shower heads and marble product make it seem like so much more than your average skimpy "master bath" in small ranch houses.
Thanks a lot! No I got a local professional staging company to take the reigns on that.
@K. Marie Poe
I couldn't tell you exact measurements off the top of my head but it's probably 5-6 feet wide. I very well may have gone a little over the top but I wanted this thing to stand out and I was able to pull it off in budget so why not?!
The open house is scheduled for next weekend! We haven't dropped the HVAC unit in yet, it's going in next week, and assuming that goes smoothly we will still have the open house. But, I it doesn't for whatever reason we may have to move it because I don't want people walking through a freezing cold house.
We were about 90% done and flying through the project at about the 6 week mark and we had a break in. Whoever it was scratched up my hardwoods, hammered about 50-75 holes throughout the drywall of the entire house and smashed my kitchen cabinets. The only thing they took was the copper from the air handler on the HVAC system. However, insurance covered most of the cost to fix all of it as I only had to come out of pocket about $1,200 to fix it all but it cost me about another 7-8 weeks in time. No fun at all :( Everything is all secure now though so I don't expect it to happen again (knock on wood).
I'm assuming by "too nice" you mean: did you over-improve it and/or that your buyers will have lenders for whom it won't appraise? In the $160K range, it might not matter as you may well get a cash buyer.
The last two properties I sold, I priced for buy-and-hold investors. Both houses ended up selling to owner occupants, as-is, for cash at my asking price. Both families had gotten money from their parents/grandparents. I sold one on Friday, totally as-is (needs minimum of flooring, paint, and a new bath and kitchen just to make it live-able). Buyer is school teacher who works at the school around the corner. She and her husband were given a just enough cash to buy it. They paid $162.5K. They got so much less than what your buyers will get. They will spend endless dollars and weekends to bring that house up to speed, But they get to live in Santa Barbara County, CA. :)
Your house is a lot of house for the money. As long as it's not in the middle of nowhere or next to a registered sex offender, you'll get plenty of viable offers. Please keep us posted.
Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 348 posts · 128 votes
12y
@K. Marie Poe
I appreciate the reassurance. I guess on the first one I'm just worried about every little thing. It's kind of my baby. But myself and my realtor are very comfortable with where the house is priced and we actually think we have it about 1-2% below market value. The first house jitters are just getting to me a little bit at this point. I'm ready to get this baby off my hands and on to #2. I'll definitely post updates as they occur.
Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 348 posts · 128 votes
12y
No calls or showings yet. My contractor said a couple of families stopped by the house yesterday while he was there working on the HVAC unit and seemed very interested. They said they were coming to the open house. I'm thinking people are waiting for the open house Saturday as it's really the first weekend the house has been on the market. Hopefully we will get some really solid interest on Saturday. Crossing my fingers!